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Delta moves toward eliminating set prices in favor of AI that determines how much you personally will pay for a ticket

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  • How does a AI know whether you're rich or not?

    Credit check.

  • So its gonna run a soft credit check on you and then give you a price?

    You don't even need AI for that, and that'd be waaaaay cheaper to implement than AI.

    ...

    A Delta spokesperson told Fortune the airline “has zero tolerance for discrimination. Our fares are publicly filed and based solely on trip-related factors like advance purchase and cabin class, and we maintain strict safeguards to ensure compliance with federal law.”

    This is horseshit.

    In Economics, the entire concept of setting specific prices for specific market demographics is literally called 'price discrimination.'

    Advance purchase and different seating classes literally are price discrimination, third degree.

    Frequent flyer discounts would be second degree.

    Overall adjusting seat costs per flight based on how full or empty that flight is, is first degree price discrimination.

    ...

    This is like a company that sells chickens saying 'we don't sell chickens.'

    This is just gobsmackingly false, so blatantly so that it is actually funny.

    Airlines entire fucking business models are based on inventing new forms and strategies of price discrimination.

    ...

    What this asshat is saying is only even interpretable as true if what he means is 'we don't directly factor sexuality, age, disability, ethnicity, legally protected classes into our pricing model.'

    They of course do this indirectly by pulling a whole bunch of your meta data and then accurately inferring those things, and then discriminating against you based on that.

    It is laughably easy to get around US discrimination laws in this way, megacorps have been regularly doing this for at least decade now, both when it comes to you as a consumer, and you as a potential employee or renter.

    It's only "funny" if they don't get away with it.

    Otherwise, it's just more depressing shit to throw on the pile

  • There is no fucking way that that is sustained simply due to the fact that people would BURN THIS PLACE DOWN if companies start doing shit like that. No one has money as it is. I'm not convinced we're not going to burn it down as it is.

    These elites has truly lost the plot and are going so far down the comic book villain lane, they're going to start dying like comic book villains. Dunked in acid, frozen solid, crushed by their exploding submarine, eaten by their own rabid experiments... Who knows, but I'm excited to find out.

    people would BURN THIS PLACE DOWN if companies start doing shit like that.

    Based on what? People will not do shit.

  • Delta has a long-term strategy to boost its profitability by moving away from set fares and toward individualized pricing using AI. The pilot program, which uses AI for 3% of fares, has so far been “amazingly favorable,” the airline said. Privacy advocates fear this will lead to price-gouging, with one consumer advocate comparing the tactic to “hacking our brains.”

    Sounds illegal or certainly should be. I'm confident nothing will be done to stop them though. Frightening given I believe this to be one of the least evil US airlines.

  • Delta has a long-term strategy to boost its profitability by moving away from set fares and toward individualized pricing using AI. The pilot program, which uses AI for 3% of fares, has so far been “amazingly favorable,” the airline said. Privacy advocates fear this will lead to price-gouging, with one consumer advocate comparing the tactic to “hacking our brains.”

    When at school, I was being told this is illegal. Public offering and all that.

    That is, I wouldn't mind with something like ancap in place (to preserve things like competition and privacy), but I see no good things from ancap being implemented anywhere, while the bad things seem to not be meeting any resistance at all.

    So, 1) how's this legal, 2) ... oh, have read in the comments that it's still not. Thanks.

  • people would BURN THIS PLACE DOWN if companies start doing shit like that.

    Based on what? People will not do shit.

    Based on them literally starving. This is a deranged idea that will infect every aspect of your life if you let it. And when it does, people will starve. There will be violence. That's my point.

    They may abuse us and torture us, but they are psychopathic about it that they are not leaving any bread of circuses. When those end, the top dies. That's how society works throughout history.

  • There is no fucking way that that is sustained simply due to the fact that people would BURN THIS PLACE DOWN if companies start doing shit like that. No one has money as it is. I'm not convinced we're not going to burn it down as it is.

    These elites has truly lost the plot and are going so far down the comic book villain lane, they're going to start dying like comic book villains. Dunked in acid, frozen solid, crushed by their exploding submarine, eaten by their own rabid experiments... Who knows, but I'm excited to find out.

    Uber started this shit years ago. If you're desperate, they screw you. You're well off, they screw you. You're in the middle of nowhere, they screw you. There's a holiday/event, they screw you. You're one of their drivers, they screw you daily.

    I can't recall if they ever got sued over it, but they're still here.

  • Delta has a long-term strategy to boost its profitability by moving away from set fares and toward individualized pricing using AI. The pilot program, which uses AI for 3% of fares, has so far been “amazingly favorable,” the airline said. Privacy advocates fear this will lead to price-gouging, with one consumer advocate comparing the tactic to “hacking our brains.”

    Delta has been by go-to airline for a long time. After reading this, I never want to fly with them again. Fuck them and anyone else who does this. If we collectively do nothing to put a stop to this practice now, it will be everywhere soon. I fucking hate this level of capitalism. Greedy fucks.

  • Based on them literally starving. This is a deranged idea that will infect every aspect of your life if you let it. And when it does, people will starve. There will be violence. That's my point.

    They may abuse us and torture us, but they are psychopathic about it that they are not leaving any bread of circuses. When those end, the top dies. That's how society works throughout history.

    Starving because Delta airlines did a thing? Not sure about that one.

  • Delta has been by go-to airline for a long time. After reading this, I never want to fly with them again. Fuck them and anyone else who does this. If we collectively do nothing to put a stop to this practice now, it will be everywhere soon. I fucking hate this level of capitalism. Greedy fucks.

    Unfortunately the other big airlines in the country will do this soon after seeing its success.

  • Delta has a long-term strategy to boost its profitability by moving away from set fares and toward individualized pricing using AI. The pilot program, which uses AI for 3% of fares, has so far been “amazingly favorable,” the airline said. Privacy advocates fear this will lead to price-gouging, with one consumer advocate comparing the tactic to “hacking our brains.”

    They have been losing money on tickets for a while now
    And making it up on credit card fees

  • Starving because Delta airlines did a thing? Not sure about that one.

    Long term thinking? Nah. None for me thanks.

  • It's only "funny" if they don't get away with it.

    Otherwise, it's just more depressing shit to throw on the pile

    I have an Econ degree so my sense of (extremely dark) humor at this point is basically:

    'billions must die, but actually'

    Like I don't know what to do at the cuts to SNAP, Medicare, and Section 8, the resumption of student loan payments, the tariffs and destruction of our farming and construction industries via ICE raids... other than just laugh.

    We're looking at Great Depression 2.0, a Holodomor-like, engineered-through-stupidity-and-malice famine.

    I am at this point expecting millions, potentially tens of millions of Americans to die or be reduced to literal, actual debt slaves, or be incarcerated for crimes deriving from being forced into utter destitution... all that within this 4 year Trump term, unless there is an actual revolution.

    Maybe if the Dems sweep the midterms (if Trump/the Reps even allow them to happen without massive ratfuckery) some of the bleeding can be stopped, but this situation is looking extremely fucking bad.

    Oh god. I forgot about climate disasters.

    Welp, alcoholism runs in my family, so, time to go look at cute puppies or something.

  • Sounds illegal or certainly should be. I'm confident nothing will be done to stop them though. Frightening given I believe this to be one of the least evil US airlines.

    Yeah, this is literally discrimination based inherently on race, gender, etc., but it's going to be considered totally fine because the mystical AI is doing it.

  • Delta has a long-term strategy to boost its profitability by moving away from set fares and toward individualized pricing using AI. The pilot program, which uses AI for 3% of fares, has so far been “amazingly favorable,” the airline said. Privacy advocates fear this will lead to price-gouging, with one consumer advocate comparing the tactic to “hacking our brains.”

    Guess people will be moving away from Delta then.

  • I have an Econ degree so my sense of (extremely dark) humor at this point is basically:

    'billions must die, but actually'

    Like I don't know what to do at the cuts to SNAP, Medicare, and Section 8, the resumption of student loan payments, the tariffs and destruction of our farming and construction industries via ICE raids... other than just laugh.

    We're looking at Great Depression 2.0, a Holodomor-like, engineered-through-stupidity-and-malice famine.

    I am at this point expecting millions, potentially tens of millions of Americans to die or be reduced to literal, actual debt slaves, or be incarcerated for crimes deriving from being forced into utter destitution... all that within this 4 year Trump term, unless there is an actual revolution.

    Maybe if the Dems sweep the midterms (if Trump/the Reps even allow them to happen without massive ratfuckery) some of the bleeding can be stopped, but this situation is looking extremely fucking bad.

    Oh god. I forgot about climate disasters.

    Welp, alcoholism runs in my family, so, time to go look at cute puppies or something.

    About half of Americans are literally debt slaves already

  • Sooo... If you're broke, does it give you low prices vs someone who is rich?

    Kidding, kidding. We all know they're going to be fucking the lower and middle income brackets hard as hell with this. As if we weren't already being milked dry, now they want to milk the very blood out of us.

    My question is: What the fuck is the endgame? This shit isn't sustainable. Used to be that most companies were content with steady profits. The last 40+ years has shown us that simply generating a profit isn't enough, the profits must be constantly going even higher every quarter. But again, this isn't realistic or sustainable. So why the fuck has the entire world agreed to condone and enable this pathway that is ultimately doomed?

    The wealthy have more time to shop around and more money to choose another option so companies think they need to provide extra incentives to get them which means better treatment and prices and etcetera.

    The poor? Ehh gouge for all they are worth and hope they die so you don't have to hear them complain.
    Which is insane cause that means the poor are the profit margins allowing for the deals of the wealthy.

  • Unfortunately the other big airlines in the country will do this soon after seeing its success.

    Exactly. And it won’t stop with airlines either. Our entire lives are going to be a fucking auction model. That’s why we need a lot of vocal opposition now.

  • The wealthy have more time to shop around and more money to choose another option so companies think they need to provide extra incentives to get them which means better treatment and prices and etcetera.

    The poor? Ehh gouge for all they are worth and hope they die so you don't have to hear them complain.
    Which is insane cause that means the poor are the profit margins allowing for the deals of the wealthy.

    The higher a percentage of your income is the price of something, the more reason there is to allocate time to find the best price - if something costs you an amount which you earn in 5 minutes, it's not really worth it to spend time looking for the better price, if it costs an amount which you earn in 2 months, it's definitelly worth to spend at least several hours looking around.

    Granted, as you say, many don't have the time to do this (though often the Maths for literally taking time of work to do it, do add up), and in my experience most people don't really make the mental connection between an amount they're considering spending and how long do they have to work to earn it hence don't really look around enough when it's financially logical to do it.

    That said, for the reason I gave above, the rich don't really care about things that "just" cost a couple thousand of dollars, which is why they casually just rent a private jet for a trip - there's a whole industry for that - or even own one and employ a pilot for it fulltime.

  • I was thinking the same thing, considering that I have less money to pay to fly my price should be lower, no? But the article ends on this note:

    Early research on personalized pricing isn’t favorable for the consumer. Consumer Watchdog found that the best deals were offered to the wealthiest customers—with the worst deals given to the poorest people, who are least likely to have other options.

    So basically the opposite of what it should be. I wouldnt mind individualized pricing if it meant Delta was robinhooding with their pricing model, but instead they are effectively using their pricing model to force out poorer consumers. Which makes sense from their perspective I suppose considering they can upsell more shit to people with more money.

    As someone who lives in a top-wealth zipcode (as a working class person) I assume by next year this means I will no longer be able to afford to fly out of town…

    Its starting to make sense why the GOP was working to ban regulation on AI use. This shit is blatantly unethical

    worst deals given to the poorest people, who are least likely to have other options

    (emphasys mine)

    Financially, giving the higher price to those who have fewer options is exactly "what it should be" so it makes sense that a pattern finding algorithm trained to find patterns in user data that indicate they are likely to agree to higher prices, produces such a result.

    It's Ethically and Morally that this is the very opposite of "what it should be".

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